Marty Strongly Denounces Anti-Semitic Attacks

On January 16th, Marty joined Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, Senator Carl Kruger, Councilman Lew Fidler and Councilman Michael Nelson in strongly denouncing the spraying of at least 26 cars with swastikas in Marine Park. Marty called on Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to organize a task force to look into a number of disturbing anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred in southern Brooklyn during the past week. "I know that whoever was responsible for these horrendous and hateful acts will be quickly apprehended and brought to justice," the BP said. "No sane person or persons would ever commit such a horrific crime. Once the perpetrators are caught, I believe that they should be made to attend a Holocaust education class and meet with Holocaust survivors so they can fully understand the profound impact of their actions on the community. But I must also stress that this despicable incident in no way reflects how Brooklynites feel about each other." On January 14th, Marty and Councilman Bill DeBlasio condemned an apparent act of anti-Semitism outside a home in Kensington. Last week, the family discovered graffiti on its garage, including the letters "JEWZ." The BP, along with the Economic Development Corporation, removed the graffiti through his borough-wide graffiti removal program. Recently, a Muslim gas station attendant prevented a man from torching a local synagogue, and an apartment was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti painted on the walls and the ceiling. On January 17th, Marty and several other local elected officials met with Brooklyn South Chief Joseph Fox for an update on the various investigations and to devise strategies to prevent future incidents. Marty is urging anyone with any information about any of these attacks to call him at 718-802-3777. Congressman Anthony Weiner has organized a community meeting on January 23rd at 7p.m. at the Kings Bay Y, 34-95 Nostrand Ave, to discuss the recent attacks.

Marty Protests Proposed Closure of Dozens of Brooklyn Token Booths

On January 15th, Marty protested New York City Transit Auth-ority's decision to close 50 full-time and part-time token booths in Brooklyn at the Bergen Street subway station (2,3 lines) at Flatbush Avenue. To save $25 million, the Transit Authority wants to close nearly 200 token booths citywide by December. "Protecting our straphangers needs to be a top priority, but eliminating dozens of token booths is a dangerous trip in the wrong direction," Marty said. "Without a live body in a token booth, passengers entering a station in the early morning or late at night are going to be especially vulnerable. What would happen if there were criminal activities or medical emergencies? Even though we live in a very high tech world, nothing can replace a set of eyes and a pair of ears. In a letter written to New York City Transit Authority President Lawrence Reuter, Marty listed 13 booths that should be immediately dropped from the closure list, even before public hearings are scheduled for next month. The BP may add additional stations to his list once more field inspections are conducted.

BP Testifies Before State Panel on Replacing School Boards

On January 16th, Marty testified before the New York State Assembly Task Force on Community School District Governance Reform, which is charged with recommending what will replace local school boards once they are abolished in June. He emphasized that the consumers of education - the parents who speak for their children - need a voice because no one person has all the answers. "The most direct way to accomplish these goals is to establish local parent groups as advisory bodies, which would also work actively to increase parental involvement in schools where it is lacking," Marty said. "Members could be appointed in a similar fashion as community planning boards: half by the borough presidents and half by the city council members representing each community. The boards should have small administrative staffs comprised of reassigned existing personnel, whose jobs would be to effectively communicate with parents. Parental advisory boards should have the power to recommend educational policy, through direct and well-defined lines of communication that should be established with the superintendents and the chancellor. When a region-al superintendent post is vacant, the chancellor's candidate to fill the vacancy should be required to appear before the chairs of the parental advisory boards for the region. The chairs would then present their findings to the chancellor, who obviously has the final say. The parental advisory board should also have the power to recommend three candidates to fill principal vacancies. The board also needs to be able to play a role in how money is spent in their local schools. The chairs of the parental advisory boards for each borough should meet monthly with the borough president's appointee to the Panel for Educational Policy. The chancellor or a representative should be required to attend these borough board meetings to discuss progress, educational policy and how resources are being allocated across the borough. These meetings could be held at the borough president's offices and a nominal staff should be assigned to help ensure that the content of these meetings is effectively communicated to parents. Mayor Bloomberg has staked his mayoralty on greatly improving how we educate our more than one million students, and I certainly hope he succeeds. But our educational system needs to flow from the top down and from the bottom up in order to succeed. The only way you are going to encourage real parental involvement is by empowering them and giving parents real responsibilities. Harnessing and replicating parental activism in schools in Brooklyn and beyond is a crucial component for the future of the New York City schools system. There is no reason why this world-class city can't provide a world-class education for every single one of our children."

Marty's State of the Borough Address

On January 23rd, Marty will deliver his State of the Borough address at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and it will be rebroadcast on BCAT at the following dates & times: Thursday, January 23rd at 7:30pm on Channel 56 (Time Warner Cable) & Channel 69 (Cablevision); Saturday, January 25th at 12:30pm on Channel 35 (Time Warner Cable) & Channel 68 (Cablevision); Monday, January 27th at 8:00pm on Channel 56 (Time Warner Cable) & Channel 69 (Cablevision); Wednesday, January 29th at 7:00pm on Channel 56 (Time Warner Cable) & Channel 69 (Cablevision).